MAP29: The Living End (Doom 2 In Name Only)

MAP29: The Living End is the twenty-ninth map of Doom 2 In Name Only. It was designed by Antroid. The par time defined in MAPINFO is 6:30.

Essentials
This level does not include any keys; instead, you must flip four skull levers placed throughout the map to open the exit.

Step forward to collect a shotgun, which will raise the blood pool up to ground level where zombies, Hell knights and revenants are waiting - you will also see a switch between the west buildings, but ignore it for now. Enter the east alley and follow it past a mancubus, chaingunner and two knights until you reach a red skin wall, open it to get inside the building then head south into a room with a baron of Hell. Activate the skin lift on the west side of the room and ride it up to the top level to get a rocket launcher, then head north until you reach an eye switch and a pair of metal bars blocking your path. The switch you passed in the starting area will open these bars for a few seconds; you need to press the eye switch to lower a lift, drop down to the starting area and flip the switch here, run back to the lift and ride it up then run through the bars before they close to land in the neighboring building. Continue north to a room with two mancubi (a baron will also teleport in behind you), then step on the skin lift at the east end of the room to go down to a yellow flesh tunnel.

Slay a couple of waiting imps and an arachnotron then follow the tunnel into a large chamber; a cyberdemon will appear at the other end of the chamber, but if you follow the trail of health bonuses they will lead you to an arch-vile protecting a useful plasma gun and energy cell packs. Follow the red "river" east past some demons and mancubi to a room with corpse "shelves" and some revenants, then go through the east doorway (the switch here is only needed if you want to backtrack to the large chamber) and go up some steps to a room with skin "benches". Kill two mancubi waiting at the opposite end of the room and take the supercharge they were guarding before flipping the skull lever on the north wall - this is the first lever needed to open the exit. Watch out for an arch-vile, zombies and demons that teleport to the benches behind you.

Return to the "shelf" room and go through the south doorway this time to find steps leading down to a stone passage. Follow the passage to a brick room with a couple of zombies and head down the steps by the east wall to confront a knight, then enter the neighboring room and leave by the north doorway to reach a lava river. Follow the river east and south past various monsters, including an arch-vile, until you see a marble brick building to the west then enter this building and go up either staircase to a room with a skull switch; after pressing this switch, head down the stairs next to it and go through the open door at the bottom to find some submerged buildings in lava. Step across to the south-east ledge and activate the bronze lift to get on top of the brick block, then run west across two rooftops - which will cause an arch-vile to appear on the center building - before turning north to leap into a ruined structure. Carefully walk up the bricks in the middle of the structure to get on top of it, then run across to the north building and go round to its north-east corner to find another lift. Ride the lift up then run to the center building, where a second arch-vile has appeared, and flip the switch on the south-east column to open a door behind you - behind this door are two knights guarding the second skull lever, as well as a switch that re-opens the door leading out of this area.

Head back to the lava river, where an arch-vile is resurrecting the monsters you killed earlier, then go to the gray-brick building on the north bank and go inside it to find a lift. Ride the lift up and enter the next room to confront imps along with a mancubus and arachnotron, then walk west to find a lava pool and go through the doorway on its east side to find a passage leading to some more skin skyscrapers. Drop down to the ground and activate the skin lift in the middle of this area to lower it, kill a waiting mancubus then ride the lift up and run east to drop to the red ledge below. Go inside the skyscraper to enter a room with chaingunners, revenants and an arch-vile, then leave the room by the east doorway to find yourself on some rooftops; you cannot fall into the pits here, but watch out for the cyberdemon on the south roof. Run across to the eastern-most structure and go inside it to find an arch-vile protecting a skin lift, ride this lift up then step across to the neighboring ledge to the south and follow it past a baron to the third skull lever.

Head back across the rooftops to the skyscraper area, then ride the skin lift up to the top again and run west to land on another ledge; you can follow this ledge north to enter a tunnel with one or two lost souls. Follow the tunnel to a cavern with a pair of bloodfalls and head west to some gray steps, then go up to the top to find a skin lift leading back to the flesh-chamber where you encountered the first cyberdemon. Head west to a junction, then take the north fork and go down the steps to find the final skull lever; pulling it will clear the nearby barrier allowing you to follow the tunnel to some stone platforms. The platforms will teleport you up to the large marble structure above you, where you will encounter another cyberdemon; kill or avoid it as you wish, then drop into the hole it is guarding to be sent into a death exit.

Secrets

 * 1) Go north from the starting point towards the metal wall and look west for a misaligned portion of the wall. Press on this side to retrieve a backpack. (sector 79)
 * 2) When you reach the upper ledge in the building east of the starting point, look out the window and jump south-west to the area behind your starting point. You will find a shotgun guy guarding a supercharge as well as armor bonuses to the side. (sector 71)
 * 3) In the area with the lava river, climb the rocks up to the central building and move alongside its outer walls until you find an opening. Inside will be a megaarmor. (sector 312)
 * 4) In the submerged lava city, climb the buildings until you reach the one on the north side. Take the lift up to the upper roof, then jump east to the brick building and open the wall ahead. You will find a medikit, an energy cell pack and shotgun shells. (sector 495)
 * 5) In the rooftop area, go along the western wall and find a wall that does not have a demonic symbol on it. Press it to lower the wall and reveal an imp guarding some cell ammo. (sector 657)

Current records
The records for the map at the Doom Speed Demo Archive are:

The data was last verified in its entirety on April 3, 2022.

Player spawns
This level contains five spawn points:
 * 1) facing north. (thing 750)
 * 2) facing east. (thing 751)
 * 3) facing south. (thing 752)
 * 4) facing north-east. (thing 753)
 * 5) facing north. (thing 754)

Things
This level contains the following numbers of things per skill level: